deleting files where the filename is too long

I need some urgent help from you all with my Windows Vista. I have few files on my system with very long name. There are bunch of such files on my system eating up huge space. Hence i wanted to delete them all. But when i select them and press Delete button to remove, it ends up with the following error message:

"The source file name(s) are larger than is supported by the file system.
Try moving to a location that has a shorter path name or try renaming to a shorter name(s) before attempting this operation."

Also when i try deleting them via DOS box (rd /s/q), it again gives me an another error saying "Filename is too long." As i remember this was not the case with Windows XP. I was able to delete such files in XP without any problem. Any idea what is wrong? Is there any way removing them in vista? Please dont tell me to rename all these 3000+ files manually and delete them!!

As far as i know both Windows XP and Vista use the same file system, NTFS with a limitation of 255 chars per filename. Hence to me it sounds weird that XP allows but Vista doesn't allows to remove long name files. there should be some another reason is not allowing you to delete them. Anyways, just try out this and see if it works.

There is no need to manually rename 3000 files one by one. In Windows Vista you can select them all (Ctrl + A) and renamed them at once. . Just right click and type 'A'. All files will be renamed to "A1", "A2", and so one. I think that the most easiest way.

Ever tried 'Unlocker'?

Right clicking a file won't help, but you can right-click the folder it's in. You might be able to delete it right away, otherwise use 'Unlock', choose 'action' 'delete'. Folder with filename too long will be gone. Restore folder if you want to.

I think you can also do that from command prompt. Just open Command Prompt as an Administrator and type cd foldername where the file resides. Now type "del *.ext" where ext is the extension name.

For example if your files are bmp image then type "del *.bmp".

Have you tried using the short 8.3 name?
If you go to a Dos-box (cmd.exe) and type "dir /x" you see the short 8.3-format names, and using that alternative name you should be able to delete it.

Maybe the file reached the 255 file path name max. Try to shorten it first so you can delete it. But if it still doesnt work, you can try Long Path Tool. This will solve this problem and other issues like error 1320 too. I tried this before when i couldn't delete a file too in the Trash. hope this will help.